Minnesota storms back, but Denver holds on for victory
MINNEAPOLIS >> What happens when you take away the Minnesota Timberwolves’ entire frontcourt? Not much, evidently. Rendered inept for most of the second half, the Nuggets finally woke up for the last seven minutes in a 115-112 win over the shockingly shorthanded Timberwolves.
There was no Karl-anthony Towns. No Rudy Gobert. No Naz Reid. No matter. Anthony Edwards scored 30 points to lead Minnesota, and the Timberwolves undid an 18-point deficit with stout defense as Denver spiraled for the entire third quarter and the first five minutes of the fourth.
Then the starters checked back in, built an eight-point lead with two minutes remaining and survived an impressive 3-point barrage from Minnesota.
Edwards front-rimmed an open three at the buzzer. Michael Porter Jr. made a pair of free throws with 7.6 seconds left to double the lead.
With the win, the Nuggets (48-21) reclaimed a one-game lead over Minnesota and moved back into a first-place tie with Oklahoma City atop the Western Conference.
Denver and Minnesota play each other twice more in the regular season. The Nuggets must win both to earn the twoway tiebreaker.
Nikola Jokic, who hasn’t played a game without an assist since Jan. 2, 2020, needed until the 6:50 mark in the fourth quarter to register his first of the night.
It came at the Nuggets’ nadir, trailing 93-89 with five second-half points in 17 minutes to that point. More importantly, it fittingly signified a turning point.
The assist set up a Porter 3-pointer and started a 10-0 run that included seven consecutive Porter points. On the next possession, Jokic found a cutting MPJ for a dunk.
Porter scored 13 of his 26 points in the last seven minutes. Jokic finished with 35 points, 16 rebounds and just the two dimes. He scored 22 in the first half after Kyle Anderson, playing smallball five, picked up three fouls in the first three minutes.
Two-way player Luka Garza was forced to guard Jokic alongside Minnesota’s starters as the two-time MVP went into attack mode. Jokic and Aaron Gordon demolished the Timberwolves on the glass in the first quarter.
Minnesota native Zeke Nnaji was out due to lower back pain, and Michael Malone elected to go the playoff-simulation route by playing Gordon at backup five. The ninthyear Nuggets coach had hinted that he “could go really small depending on who’s available for (Minnesota)” during his pregame news conference, indicating that Deandre Jordan might’ve played if Gobert had.
Instead, Gordon amassed eight points and eight rebounds in as many minutes to start the game with Jokic — but only added six and three
Denver Min FG Gordon 32:22 5-10 Porter Jr. 31:34 9-15 Jokic 37:40 14-22 Cldwll-pp 37:40 3-6 Murray 32:14 6-14 Holiday 17:43 2-3 Braun 17:38 1-4 Jackson 16:43 1-3 Watson 16:26 1-4
FT Reb A PF Pts 4-5 7-11 2 1 14 4-5 1-4 1 2 26 4-6 1-16 2 3 35 1-1 1-2 1 1 9 4-4 1-4 11 3 18 0-0 0-2 3 3 6 0-0 0-4 0 1 3 0-0 0-3 6 1 2 0-1 0-3 0 4 2
Totals 240:0042-8117-2211-492619 115 Percentages: FG .519, FT .773; 3-Point Goals: 14-27, .519 (Porter Jr. 4-7, Jokic 3-4, Holiday 2-3, Murray 2-3, Caldwellpope 2-4, Braun 1-3, Watson 0-1, Jackson 0-2); Team Rebounds: 2. Team Turnovers: None; Blocked Shots: 1 (Caldwell-pope); Turnovers: 17 (Gordon 4, Jokic 3, Porter Jr. 3, Jackson 2, Murray 2, Braun, Caldwell-pope, Watson); Steals: 5 (Caldwell-pope 2, Murray 2, Jackson); Technical Fouls: None
Denver Minnesota
35 28
35 27
Minnesota Min Alxdr-wkr 36:30 2-7 Mcdaniels37:38 9-13 Anderson 25:36 5-9 Conley 29:21 3-7 Edwards 37:40 13-26 Morris 22:48 3-6 Garza 22:24 4-11 Mclghlin 18:38 1-4 Warren 9:25 2-5
17 29
28 — 115 28 — 112
FT Reb 0-0 0-2 4-7 0-6 2-2 0-3 6-6 2-6 1-2 1-8 1-2 0-1 1-2 3-6 0-0 1-3 1-2 1-2
A PF Pts 3 1 4 0 5 26 4 3 12 5 5 13 8 1 30 2 0 8 0 1 11 3 0 2 0 0 6
Totals 240:0042-8816-238-3725 16 112 Percentages: FG .477, FT .696; 3-Point Goals: 12-35, .343 (Mcdaniels 4-6, Edwards 3-8, Garza 2-8, Morris 1-2, Warren 1-2, Conley 1-4, Mclaughlin
0-1, Alexander-walker 0-4); Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: None; Blocked Shots: 7 (Anderson 2, Mcdaniels 2, Alexander-walker, Garza, Warren); Turnovers: 7 (Edwards 3, Conley 2, Mcdaniels, Mclaughlin); Steals: 10 (Morris 3, Edwards 2, Garza 2, Anderson, Conley, Mcdaniels); Technical Fouls: None
A: 18,024 (19,356); T: 2:12 the rest of the night. He turned the ball over four times.
Jokic, meanwhile, suddenly disappeared from Denver’s offense at the beginning of the third quarter. He didn’t attempt a shot until 5:26 into the half, while the Timberwolves quickly unleashed a 15-3 run. They doubleteamed his post touches with more conviction, and he had three turnovers.